Harman now denies she favors tax hike

Zachary Coile, OF THE EXAMINER STAFF

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, May 23, 1998

In a flip-flop that her campaign insists was a "misunderstanding," Rep. Jane Harman said she would not raise property taxes on longtime homeowners two days after publicly saying she would consider doing so.

The Democratic candidate for governor swiftly backed away from a statement made at an Examiner editorial board meeting Wednesday that she would tinker with Proposition 13 to make it more equitable to recent home buyers.

During the meeting Harman said she would ask long-term property owners to "pay a bit more, and the folks who've just come in to pay a bit less."

Harman and her political advisors said Friday the comment was misinterpreted.

"We wanted to clarify that she was not going to raise property taxes," Kam Kuwata, Harman's campaign manager said. "She would see, after discussing with local governments, whether there were ways to equalize the property tax burden, perhaps through a tax rebate or some other kind of tax benefit using the budget surplus."

In campaign appearances Harman has sought to do damage control after being questioned by reporters about her comments. At a press conference Thursday in Los Angeles, she shied away from saying she would ask anyone to "pay a bit more." But she said she would still seek some tax relief for new homeowners using the state's current $4 billion surplus.

She did not offer specifics on what kind of tax break she would seek. Harman has already proposed spending $1.8 billion of the surplus on tax cuts, including a renter's tax credit and a reduction in the car tax.

Earlier a Harman aide has said the quotes in The Examiner were "not accurate." Kuwata clarified Friday that Harman doesn't dispute the accuracy of the quotes, "but that there was a misunderstanding of what she wanted to do."

"It's not a backtrack," Kuwata said. "There may have been some imprecision (in Harman's comments). But I don't view that as a backtrack. I view that as a misunderstanding."

Already at least one group sought to make hay of her comments. The Republican National Committee sent out a fax to reporters that included her comments and said: "Who are the long-term property owners Jane Harman wants to "pay a bit more?' Senior citizens, that's who!"

Many were surprised that Harman took up the issue of rejiggering Prop. 13, which is seen as sacrosanct by many political observers. She made her comments in response to a question about the landmark initiative, which passed 20 years ago next month.